Were there any Slavs in Seventh-Century Macedonia?

Abstract

The article deals with a long-standing historiographic assumption, according to which, shortly after 600 the Slavs settled the territory of the present-day Republic of Macedonia, where they organized a sklavinia. However, a close examination of the written sources shows no indication of a Slavic migration to Macedonia. Nor is the archaeological evidence in any way related to assemblages north of the Lower Danube inhabited by Slavs during the sixth century. Seventh century assemblages and stray finds from Macedonia unmistakably point a very different population, one that maintained strong ties with the Empire and was most likely Christian.